Pro preference

College football has kicked off this weekend, giving us an endless parade of Florida-Western Kentucky, Penn State-Florida International and the like.

Please, wake me when the real games start.

I don't dislike college football. Heck, I covered Penn State for nearly two decades (1984-2003), and if you don't like the game on some level, the endless drive into (and out of) State College will rob you of your sanity. (I'm sure I've crossed paths with many of you, at that Hardee's in Dauphin -- a veritable oasis, after you've negotiated a path out of the mountains.)

At the same time, I much prefer pro football, for three reasons:

1. The skill level. Those who support the college game like to say that the best teams on that level would beat the worst NFL teams. Sorry, but I don't buy that. I believe the pro team would win, nine times out of 10. And here's why: Only the very best collegians make a pro roster. I don't know what the percentage might be -- the top two percent? One percent? Whatever. But these are only the best players, even on the worst team.

Several years ago, I covered Penn State-USC, two very good college teams, in the Los Angeles Coliseum. The next day I watched the Raiders and Colts play in the very same stadium. It was amazing, how much faster the pro game was. Just striking.

2. The scheduling. In the college game, you can schedule your way to a good season, and many teams do. It's why we have all these guarantee games right now -- teams like Western Kentucky and Florida International are guaranteed plenty of cash for their athletic coffers to come to Gainesville and State College, respectively, while the Gators and Nittany Lions are all but guaranteed a victory.

You can't do that in the NFL. You play the teams Roger Goodell says you have to play. And if there's an easy game in there, it's because of other factors (breaks, zebras, injuries, etc.).

3. The pro game doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is -- a tough, cruel, yes-we're-printing-money business. The college game is the same thing, but wants us to believe (and not without success) that it is somehow tied in with, yes, education.

And we fall for it. We enjoy the facade, the pageant -- the colors, the banners, the fight songs, the cheerleaders. Who among us would not be moved on a Saturday in State College, when the first hint of fall is in the air and a big-name opponent is on the opposite sideline?

But when it comes down to it, it's still a business. We are still watching entertainers, albeit unpaid ones. That helps a lot with the bottom line, you understand. The NCAA salary cap is this: $0. And if you want to bring up the whole scholarship thing, fine. But I suspect that Anthony Morelli and Derrick Williams and Dan Connor net a wee bit more for PSU than the worth of their grants.